The present invention relates generally to the field of sound attenuation devices and systems, and more particularly to portable sound proof booths that can be easily assembled and disassembled. Soundproof enclosures or sound booths, are required for recording vocalists, tracking bands, acoustic instruments, and voice over work as well as practicing, rehearsing and instructional use, for creating an environment where sound can be controlled.
One objective that must be achieved by using a sound booth is to stop sound from entering or leaving a space, or soundproofing. That is, to prevent sound from disturbing the neighbors, and to keep the outside noise from disturbing an artist and/or getting into recordings.
The other objective is to enhance the properties of sound by improving speech clarity and sound quality, which requires acoustic room treatment. There are three primary goals of acoustic treatment: 1) To prevent standing waves and acoustic interference from affecting the frequency response of recording studios; 2) to reduce modal ringing in small rooms; 3) to absorb or diffuse sound in the room to avoid ringing and flutter echoes.
Sound in an enclosed space behaves fundamentally different from sound in a free field. In most enclosed spaces sound from the source is reflected from boundary surfaces such as walls, floor and ceiling. The resulting sound-pressure level at any point in the enclosure is a combination of direct sound and the reflective sound. The worst type of room shape is a perfect cube, because all three dimensions are the same and all three dimensions resonate at the same frequency, furthermore the corners of the room build up the most bass energy under steady-state conditions. Therefore, the goal is to have a room shape that spreads the modes evenly throughout the low frequency range. This is done by designing the room with dimensions whose ratios of length, width, and height are as unrelated as possible.
While these factors can be addressed in stationary sound booths built by professional sound engineers, those booths are very expensive and it can only be rolled within a limited distance.
Therefore there is a need for high quality low cost mobile booths with good acoustic qualities, that can be taken out in the field, can be assembled and disassembled by a single person as many times as needed, and can be transported in an average size car, or simply be put up to use in an apartment, and be dismantled and stored when not in use.
All enclosures require adequate ventilation, which is in most cases achieved by forced air ventilation. The air rushing through air ducts carries with it noise from a fan and the air velocity itself may cause noise. This creates yet another objective: to quiet the air flow and cancel the noise carried by the air.
Achieving these objectives requires a multifaceted approach.
Giordano (Pub No.: US 2005/0284079 A1, application Ser. No. 10/794,106 filing date Mar. 4, 2004) described a method of constructing sound booth out of readily available ½ inch metal conduits as an alternative way of building inexpensive sound booth. This method is widely discussed on internet forums as a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) project. Giordano does not describe a new product he describes a method. The deficiency of Giordano's desighn is that it still has plurality of small parts that can be easily lost, and tools are required for assembly/disassembly; also the frame is not designed for repeated assembly/reassembly. Another deficiency is that although the author calls his invention “sound booth” he does not describe any special sound barrier solutions, but limits his description solely to assembly of the frame. On the other hand his booth supposed to be covered only “on its two side and back panels”, which does not provide complete enclosure from all sides and does not create an adequate sound proof environment. Other existing “walk in” sound booths are pretty much permanent bulky structures that once built cannot be easily disassembled/reassembled and transported by passenger cars.